Amazon Redshift is set to implement an incremental snapshot billing model for its Serverless and RG (provisioned instances powered by AWS Graviton) services starting June 8, 2026. This innovative approach allows customers to pay solely for the unique data blocks across their active manual snapshots, significantly reducing costs for those with multiple snapshots containing similar data.
Snapshots are crucial for Amazon Redshift users, serving as point-in-time backups essential for disaster recovery, compliance, and data portability. The service currently supports both automated and manual snapshots. Automated snapshots are retained for up to 35 days by default, while manual snapshots remain until deleted. Serverless workgroups automatically create recovery points retained for 24 hours, with the option for manual snapshots with configurable retention periods.
How Incremental Billing Works
Under the new billing model, customers will be charged based on unique data blocks. For instance, if a 10 TB data warehouse has three manual snapshots, the billing would reflect the 10 TB of unique data in the first snapshot and any new unique data in subsequent snapshots, effectively reducing costs by not charging for duplicated data.
Benefits of the New Model
- Cost Efficiency: Customers can maintain backup retention beyond automated snapshot limits without incurring high costs.
- Enhanced Data Protection: This model supports frequent snapshots, allowing for tighter recovery objectives and minimizing data loss.
- Affordability for Compliance: Organizations in regulated industries can retain backups for extended periods without excessive costs.
Use Cases
Organizations looking to implement stronger data protection strategies can benefit from the incremental snapshot billing. For example, a 10 TB warehouse with a daily change rate of 5% retaining daily snapshots for 90 days would incur costs for approximately 14.5 TB of unique data blocks across all snapshots.
Furthermore, this model is advantageous for multi-Region disaster recovery strategies, as snapshots copied to other regions will also be billed based on unique data blocks, making geographic redundancy more affordable.
Transitioning to the New Model
No action is required from customers, as existing manual snapshots will automatically transition to the incremental snapshot billing model on the effective date. This change aims to encourage more frequent snapshots and support better disaster recovery strategies while keeping costs manageable.
Conclusion
The introduction of incremental snapshot billing represents a significant advancement for Amazon Redshift users, providing a pathway to enhanced data protection without compromising budget. Customers are encouraged to review their snapshot strategies to maximize the benefits of this new model.
